Australian cricket's pop star has the 'it' factor

Sporting a baseball cap, tongue and lip rings and the kind of
swagger more synonymous with the half-pipe than the cricket field,
Johnson looks every bit the poster child for the Playstation
generation. Pop culture in a Cricket Australia tracksuit.

But to judge Johnson solely on his appearance is to miss the
bigger picture. After all, this is the left-arm quick who Dennis
Lillee described as a "once in a generation" prospect; the bowler
who so impressed Australia's chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns
that, in order to get a closer look, he asked to umpire a junior
match in which Mitchell was bowling.

For someone with just 14 first-class games to his credit - over
five injury-interrupted seasons - Johnson has commanded an
inordinate amount of attention. On MTV, they might call it the
it factor. Or, as Lillee once put it, "he's got it."

So just what is it?

What has got selectors so excited that, despite modest
first-class returns, Johnson has effectively jumped the queue and
won a place on his second one-day tour with the Australians?

It is the rarest of Australian bowling commodities: a
genuinely fast left-armer capable of swinging the ball viciously.
The kind of cricketer who, if fit and in form, coaches covet and
selectors salivate over. But there's the rub. The if factor.

Having struggled through a succession of back injuries, even
losing his Queensland contract barely two years ago, Johnson, at
the age of 24, has proven the most frustrating of phenomenons.

If fit, he remains a frightening sight for batsmen - although,
as it stands, he has taken just 36 first-class wickets at 34.58
since making his debut for Queensland in the 2001/02 season. He is
also wicketless in two one-day international appearances, with an
unflattering seven-plus economy rate.

Discussing his career in a Cape Town hotel foyer before Friday's
second one-day international in Cape Town, Johnson reveals that he
would have walked away from cricket two years ago if his family in
Townsville hadn't talked him around.

He also believes Lillee's infamous comments, though intended to
be encouraging, burdened him with enormous pressure through the
early stages of his career.

"I think it did, especially being so young," Johnson said. "I
hadn't played a lot of cricket and I thought it was a big thing. I
probably didn't train as hard and do all the little things maybe
because of what he'd said. I probably took it on board too much.
You can't really do that. No matter what people say, you've still
got to go out there and do the hard work. I recognise that now,
especially with all the injuries.

"When I got my last stress fractures, I had lost my contract and
a few personal things were going on. I wanted to give it up then. I
went home to where I'm from, Townsville, and I spoke to family and
friends and sort of got myself together. I trained hard and came
back from it. I felt quite annoyed and angry and frustrated. I just
went back home for a month and tried to have a bit of fun and not
think about it too much. It's amazing to think that that was maybe
only two seasons ago."

Now, to his appearance. In marketing terms, Johnson is a dream
for CA, giving them a new edge, a new appeal in their pitch to
younger audiences.

He also opens the door to a newer audience in Far North
Queensland, where rugby league has historically dominated all other
sports.

But what of the older set, who fawn over black-and-white images
of the likes of Fred Spofforth, looking all starch and brille
cream. Has Johnson ever felt pressure to conform?

"Not really," he said. "I get a few comments from the boys but
nothing too bad. When I first got (the piercings) Andrew Symonds
called me 'sinker lip'. It was something I did because I wanted to
do it. There are a few guys in cricket who have earings, but no one
like this. It's a bit different, I guess."

As was his recent experience with Graeme Smith. Having dismissed
Smith in a trial game last summer, Johnson was confident of success
when he again faced the South African captain at SuperSport Park in
the opening one-day international of the series. But, alas, Johnson
would last just three overs as Smith, showing little resemblance to
the batsman who struggled his way through the Australian tour, went
on to post an unbeaten century.

"I normally would take the new ball in state cricket, but taking
on a new role was a lot different to what I'm used to," he said.
"He absolutely smashed them. It was quite tough.

"I'm getting used to being with the Australian team. I'm not
used to the long sessions at home and backing up all the time. I've
quite enjoyed to see what the guys really do. I have said to a few
of the guys that it is so much different to first-class
cricket.

"I used to watch Shane Watson come back to Queensland and train
and you'd think that it was amazing what he was doing, all the
extra training. I can see why he does that now, with what the
Australian team do. Guys like Shane and Michael Kasprowicz and Andy
Bichel have been huge influences on me."